Wine connoisseurs used to go by a so called wine rule which basically was red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat. The exception to that rule was chicken because no one seemed to know what wine should be served with this poultry. Today that rule has pretty much gone by the wayside. If you like it, pair it together, and that includes wine paired with chicken. I’m a lover of chicken dishes in most shapes and forms. I also like my wine, so I pair a variety of wines with my chicken dishes. My favorite chicken dishes are the ones with sauces, especially Alfredo sauce and orange sauce. Here is guide to help you pair your favorite chicken with your favorite wine.
A light chardonnay or dry Riesling are good paired with cream sauce chicken dishes like Fettuccine chicken Alfredo, one of my favorite items on the menu when I go out dining. Neither of these wines compete with the flavor of this rich cream sauce.
Riesling is a crisp clean wine. It pairs nicely with spicy chicken dishes like barbecued or grilled chicken because of the sweetness of some of theses sauces, as well as with the cream sauces. It’s a rather diverse wine that can be paired with any number of your saucy chicken dishes.
You can’t wrong when pairing a glass of light chardonnay with almost any chicken dish. When in doubt, you can always opt for this choice of white wine, and it will surely be a winner whatever chicken you’re pairing it with.
Sauvigon Blanc is one of my favorite wines when I’m dining. Some of the chicken dishes this wine pairs well with are the ones that use green spices such as rosemary and thyme, as well as citrus chicken dishes. Chicken Divan, Chicken in orange sauce and Chicken vegetable stir frys are good examples of dishes that pair well with this wine.
Pinot Nior is good paired with your saltier chicken dishes. I have a chicken sausage skillet dish that I prepare on occasion and this is a good wine pair with that.
Merlot, a full bodied red wine works well paired with tomato sauce chicken dishes like Chicken Cacciatore, or Chicken Parmesan.
Bordeaux, Burgundy, and fruity Zinfandel all match well paired with a variety of chicken dishes, including roast chicken.
Wine is also used in the cooking process of a number of chicken dishes. Wine baked chicken breasts is a good recipe using a Chablis or other dry white wine as part of its recipe. Chicken terriyaki is a delicious dish prepared with a dry white wine, also. When serving these chicken dishes pair them with a similar glass of wine at the dinner table that was used in their preparation.
This chicken wine pairing guide should help you in selecting a favorite wine to be served with chicken dishes, but if you have a favorite wine that you enjoy, go for it. This is only a guide, not a rule for your chicken and wine pairing.
There a number of good wines out there so don’t be afraid to give them a try the next time you enjoy a delicious chicken dinner.
If you want more information on wine pairing, there are several websites that may be helpful to you. A few I suggest are winepairing.com, wine101.com, and matchmy wine.com.
Sources: wine101.com
matchmywine.com
winepairing.com
personal preferences & experience
